Bob Dylan – Things We Said Today Review

Two great minds of music crash into one another with Things We Said Today. Bob Dylan is no stranger to an appealing cover job. Neither is Paul McCartney. To hear Dylan cover a classic track from The Beatles’ stellar A Hard Day’s Night is the crossover some may only dream of. But here it is. A strong selection which does not hit out as all too obvious a choice. Paying tribute to a quarter of the Fab Four is a shock break for Dylan, who usually keeps himself in the country and folk stable. But he is no stranger to pop and its influence. His voice is up for it – and as we look back on a decade-old cover, it is striking to hear how much of this performance would pave the way to those Rough and Rowdy Ways efforts. The Art of McCartney comes good. 

Deep cuts of Dylan are so frequent the waters are muddied. Finding the unbelievable qualities of Things We Said Today is a tricky process though Spotify now has us covered. Vocally, Dylan sounds stronger than he has in years. Things We Said Today is given the gravelly treatment, the throaty howls of a man whose voice has lost its spritely tones and turned to tense lounge rock. His harsh sound here works wonders, the sudden riffs from an electric guitar relegated to the background in favour of neat strings and excellent acoustic work builds a platform for an intensely enjoyable cover. Fade into silence as the tones of future nostalgia take hold. McCartney had written this with a longing for what he was already experiencing.  

His intensity may be lost to the grandeur and frequent stun of The Beatles but at its core the refreshing pangs of love lasting across continents are there. Boiling McCartney’s writing down to romanticism is weak though – and Dylan does well to elevate this into a swinging, feral piece of work which lays down shot after shot of heartbreak. It feels distant. An almost inevitable conclusion to a man writing away for a love not set to last. Things We Said Today still holds itself as a dark and ruminating piece, and Dylan’s cover may hold up better than the original. Dylan maintains the instrumental similarities and changes very little. He brings a moodiness left on Things We Said Today to the forefront, and this can only be done thanks to the longevity of the original. 

Deeper vocal tones and a heavier instrumental swing, Dylan makes this one his own. It is easy to separate the two versions and in turn clear to pick a favourite. Things We Said Today has a wonderful maturity to it from a period in The Beatles’ early years. Sharp and swinging turns from Dylan give this one new life, the nostalgia now cemented and reflected on from a party not involved with the fallout. A fresh set of ears on the troubles McCartney was set to reflect on are amplified on this cover, and the rest of those collected works on The Art of McCartney pay tribute to an artist whose work so frequently features foresight before the catastrophe occurs. This image as a jolly artist has been stapled to McCartney yet his lyrical works are rarely of that upbeat tone, one of the major reasons this Dylan cover works so well. It needs the swooning folk edge.